Friday, December 22, 2017

I’ve never tried to make panettone before, mostly because of
how notoriously difficult it is to make, or so I was told. Turns out that
wasn’t the case, unless people are factoring in the time, as this does take
three days to complete, but other than that, I thought it was a pretty
straightforward bread recipe.

I think bakers like us regular folks to believe everything
is super hard to make, so as to elevate their standing in society; or, maybe
this is difficult, and I just got lucky, but regardless, I was thrilled with
how this came out.

I may add a bit more vanilla next time, and possibly a few
extra tablespoons of sugar, as it wasn’t quite as sweet as I imagined, but
other than using all the fruit, I don’t think I’d change much else. Speaking of
the dried fruit, there are so many other things you can include, such as nuts,
and chocolate chips, just in case this seems too healthy.

You'll find the panettone baking molds at places like Sur La Table, or other kitchenware stores at the mall, but they're also inexpensive and easy to find on Amazon. You'll see both in this size, and also the more traditional, tall, coffee-can shape. It might be a little late to start this, and finish by
Christmas, but I would try it anyway. Just don’t let your guests
know how easy it was to make, unless they’re professional bakers, then do. I really
hope you give this special occasion bread a try soon. Enjoy!

NOTE: If you don’t have sourdough starter, mix 3/4 cup flour
with about 1/3 cup cold water, or enough to simulate the thickness of the one
seen in the video, and add a pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of yeast. Mix, cover and
leave overnight, just like the one in the video.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

I don’t remember that much about the
lobster thermidor I ate in culinary school in the early eighties, other than
not really being able to taste any lobster. Instead of the nice, light sauce I
used here, the meat was hidden in a thick, eggy, cheese sludge, which looked
great broiled to a bubbly, golden-brown, but wasn’t the best method if you
actually wanted to know you were eating lobster.

Lobster is sort of sweet, and rich tasting
to begin with, so covering it in a super heavy sauce never made much sense,
which is why I like this approach so much more. Our sauce is just heavy enough
to coat the chunks of meat, without hiding it, and while we’re not adding
handfuls of cheese, or a bunch of egg yolks, we’re still going to enjoy a
fairly decadent dish.

Not only is this great for a fancy
dinner party because it looks and tastes great, but you can also do all the
prep ahead of time, and then just pop them in the oven when you’re ready for
service. If you go that route, they’re going to be much colder, so you’ll
probably need to give them a few extra minutes in the oven. Remember,
everything is already cooked, so just roast until the meat is heated through.

The classic version is made with a
whole, split lobster, which admittedly tastes better, but is a hundred times
messier, and harder to do, not to mention probably more expensive. Frozen
lobster tails can be surprising affordable, and there isn’t any waste. Either
way, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Friday, December 15, 2017

In addition to sharing an easy, and beautiful edible holiday
gift idea, I wanted to make this chocolate bark so I could test a simplified
technique for tempering chocolate without a thermometer. It sounded too good to
be true, but worked fairly well, which is the problem. Is fairly good, okay?

Properly
tempered chocolate will snap when broken, and retain that gorgeous glossy
sheen. Poorly tempered chocolate is sort of dull grey, and the texture is soft,
and waxy. This was somewhere in the middle.

Using this method, you will get close to properly tempered
chocolate, and you might get lucky, and actually end up with perfectly tempered
chocolate, but in hindsight, since using a thermometer isn’t really hard, and
the extra steps required not that strenuous, I’ll probably just do it the right
way next time.

In fact, I may do a future chocolate truffle video as an
excuse to show you the “professional” method, but in the meantime, check out this great article I found on Allrecipes, as well as this video from Monarch Media that does a good job of explaining the steps. There
are also hundreds of other videos online that take you through the procedure.
Regardless of which method you go with, quick and imprecise, or deliberate and
exact, I stand by my assertion that this would make a great holiday gift. I
hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

That is the question, and for me the answer depends on what
else is on the menu besides this delicious butternut bisque.

When you roast
butternut, you caramelize, and concentrate the flesh, and get something
sweeter, starchier, and richer, which is perfect if you’re enjoying it as a
meal, but maybe not such a great thing if it’s going to be followed by
additional courses.

The last thing you want when you start a big holiday meal
with a soup course are your guests feeling full when they finish. Of course, as
with all things food, this is highly subjective, but I did want to share my thought
process on skipping the roasting step.

I really enjoyed the festive, seasonally appropriate garnish
seen herein, but if you are going for more of a stand-alone meal, it’s pretty
amazing embellished with a handful of crispy bacon, and spoon of crème fraiche.
So, whether you roast or not; whether you’re going to serve at some fancy
feast, or just some chilly Tuesday night, I really hope you give this a try
soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs)

3 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 quart chicken broth

pinch of cayenne

1/2 cup heavy cream or crème fraiche (plus more to swirl on top)

2 tablespoons maple syrup, or to tastechives and pomegranate to garnish

Friday, December 8, 2017

Many holiday main course recipes involve expensive
ingredients, and/or time consuming, complicated techniques, not to mention the anxiety
that comes along with worrying whether all that time and money will have been
worth it. I’m looking at you, dry, overcooked beef wellington.

If you want to avoid all that, maybe consider making tourtière.
This French-Canadian meat pie is hearty, satisfying, easy to make, visually
impressive, relatively affordable, and since it’s best served at room
temperature, doesn’t require any kind of precise timing.

You can also easily tailor this to your own tastes, since
other than the ground meat and mashed potato, pretty much anything goes. Or,
make it just like this. I’ve only had tourtière a handful of times, so I’m
certainly no expert, but I thought this came out extremely well, and I wouldn’t
change anything when I make it again.

Although, I may try it with some beef gravy, as a few of my
Canadian friends have suggested. Some even suggest ketchup, which I did try on
a cold slice, and not surprisingly it was delicious. But, no matter how you
serve this tourtière, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one 9-inch Tourtière:

For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, sliced, frozen

7 tablespoons ice cold *water

2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar

*add a little more if dough isn’t pressing together

1 large russet potato, boiled in enough salted water to
cover (reserve water)

1 tablespoon butter

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground beef

1 cup potato water, plus more as needed

For the spice blend:

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoonground
ginger

1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

pinch cayenne

For the egg wash:

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

Please note: Once your filling has cooled, taste for salt,
and adjust before filling the crust.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

After posting the long, and relatively complicated
croissants video last week, I decided to take a little mental break, and do a
video for how to put together a holiday cheese board. I’ve wanted to do this
one for a while, and since we’re in the middle of entertaining season, I
thought the timing was perfect.

It’s always stressful to have people coming over this time
of the year. You want to please, and impress, but there never seems to be
enough time to get everything done, especially in the kitchen, and that’s when
a well-designed cheese board can save the day.

They’re fast to put together, and you don’t need any special
skills, other than being able to talk to strangers at the fancy grocery store.
Most feature extensive cheese selections, and it’s been my experience that the
people who work in those departments love helping you pick out your
cheese.

I know this, since I’m married to one of those people.
Michele used to sell cheese in various shops and charcuteries, and her
selection/pairing skills are legendary. Customers would simply tell her how
many guests were coming, as well as what was being served, in particular, which
adult beverages, and she would work her magic.

I gave you our basic approach for composing one of these boards,
but there are many different ways you can go, so I encourage you to find the
“Michele” at whichever place you’re buying your cheese. You won’t regret it. No
matter which cheeses you end up with, or how you garnish them, I really hope
you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Friday, December 1, 2017

I wouldn’t describe homemade croissants
as an easy recipe, since there are multiple steps, and it does take a least half
a day, but it’s really not that hard either; and certainly simpler than flying
to Paris, which is the only other way to enjoy these amazing pastries.

Sure, some of you may live near an authentic
French bakery, maybe even one of the few that still use pure butter, but for
the sake of this post, let’s assume that you don’t. Besides, sitting next to a
basket of homemade croissants raises your foodie street cred like few other
things.

Despite taking a fair amount to time,
this is actually the quick version, in that we’re not leaving the dough to rest
overnight, before laminating with the butter. I don’t think there’s a huge
difference, but I did want to mention in case you’d prefer to start the dough
at night, and do the rest of the work the next day.

The technique is pretty
straightforward, but be sure to pay attention to the temperature of your
butter.If you’re slab is too soft, it
will just blend into the dough, and you won’t get the gorgeous layering seen
herein. And if it’s too cold in firm, it
won’t spread between the layers of dough like it needs to. It should basically
have the firmness of clay.

So, take your time, and when in doubt,
pop the dough in the fridge for a few minutes to chill it down as you’re
working. You’ll notice I didn’t serve anything on my croissants when I did the
final shots, and if you make these, you’ll understand why.I really do hope you give these a try soon.
Enjoy!